Moving apparatus for cleaning, collaborative cleaning system, and method of controlling the same

ABSTRACT

The disclosure relates to a moving apparatus for cleaning, a collaborative cleaning system, and a method of controlling the same, the moving apparatus for cleaning including: a cleaner configured to perform cleaning; a traveler configured to move the moving apparatus; a communicator configured to communicate with an external apparatus; and a processor configured to identify an individual cleaning region corresponding to the moving apparatus among a plurality of individual cleaning regions assigned to the moving apparatus and at least one different moving apparatus based on current locations throughout a whole cleaning region, based on information received through the communicator, and control the traveler and the cleaner to travel and clean the identified individual cleaning region. Thus, the individual cleaning regions are assigned based on the location information about the plurality of cleaning robots, and a collaborative clean is efficiently carried out with a total shortened cleaning time.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a U.S. National Stage Application which claims thebenefit under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Patent Application No.PCT/KR2018/016258 filed on Dec. 19, 2018, which claims foreign prioritybenefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119 of Korean Patent Application No.10-2018-0000917 filed on Jan. 3, 2018 in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the contents of each of which are incorporated hereinby reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates to a moving apparatus for cleaning, acollaborative cleaning system, and a method of controlling the same, andmore particularly to a moving apparatus for autonomously moving andcleaning a floor, a collaborative cleaning system, and a method ofcontrolling the same.

BACKGROUND ART

A cleaning robot and the like moving apparatus for cleaning refers to anelectronic apparatus that includes a cleaning module for cleaning apredetermined ground such as a floor at home, and a moving module formoving on the ground, and moves and cleans the ground autonomously.

The cleaning robot is controlled to avoid collision with an obstacle ona traveling path while traveling on the floor within a cleaning zone,and uniformly clean the cleaning zone.

However, two or more cleaning robots may travel for a collaborativeclean within one cleaning zone. In this case, a plurality of cleaningrobots needs to be controlled to efficiently divide and clean thecleaning zone in consideration of a structure of a room, a history of aclean, a status of a cleaning robot, etc.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

The disclosure is conceived to solve the above-described problems, andthe disclosure provides a moving apparatus for cleaning, a collaborativecleaning system, and a method of controlling the same, in which aplurality of cleaning robots can efficiently perform a collaborativeclean while communicating with one another within a cleaning space.

Further, the disclosure provides a moving apparatus for cleaning, acollaborative cleaning system, and a method of controlling the same, inwhich a plurality of cleaning robots are assigned with individualcleaning regions automatically or in response to a user input based onvarious conditions including their location information, therebyshortening a cleaning time and carrying out an efficient collaborativeclean.

Technical Solution

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a moving apparatus forcleaning includes: a cleaner configured to perform cleaning; a travelerconfigured to move the moving apparatus; a communicator configured tocommunicate with an external apparatus; and a processor configured toidentify an individual cleaning region corresponding to the movingapparatus among a plurality of individual cleaning regions assigned tothe moving apparatus and at least one different moving apparatus basedon current locations throughout a whole cleaning region, based oninformation received through the communicator, and control the travelerand the cleaner to travel and clean the identified individual cleaningregion. Thus, the individual cleaning regions are assigned based on thelocation information about the plurality of cleaning robots, and acollaborative clean is efficiently carried out with a total shortenedcleaning time.

Each current location of the moving apparatus and at least one differentmoving apparatus may correspond to a location of a charging station.Thus, the cleaning robot being charged can receive a command to performthe collaborative clean.

The processor may be configured to identify the current location of themoving apparatus based on data obtained by a detector for detecting anenvironment around the moving apparatus. Thus, even when the startlocation of the cleaning robot is not fixed, the location is identifiedto thereby carry out an efficient collaborative clean.

The processor may be configured to map the current locations of themoving apparatus and the at least one different moving apparatus on amap including the whole cleaning region, and controls the plurality ofindividual cleaning regions to be assigned based on the mapping currentlocations. Thus, it is easy to identify the current locations of thecleaning robots based on the map.

The processor may be configured to generate a first map based on dataobtained by a detector for detecting an environment around the movingapparatus, and map the current locations of the moving apparatus and theat least one different moving apparatus on the generated first map.Thus, the map generated by the sensor provided in at least one cleaningrobot performing the collaborative clean is used in identifying thelocation.

The processor may be configured to: generate a merged map by receiving asecond map including an individual cleaning region corresponding to theat least one different moving apparatus, and merging the received secondmap and the first map, and control the plurality of individual cleaningregions to be assigned based on the merged map. Thus, the maps generatedby two or more cleaning robots are merged to obtain the map of the wholecleaning region.

When the clean of the identified individual cleaning region is finished,the processor may be configured to control the traveler so that themoving apparatus can move to and clean another individual cleaningregion or move to the charging station, based on status information ofat least one different moving apparatus received through thecommunicator. Thus, the collaborative clean is efficiently carried outby taking the current status of the cleaning robot into account.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a collaborative cleaningsystem includes: a plurality of moving apparatuses for cleaning; and aterminal apparatus, the terminal apparatus including: a communicatorconfigured to communicate with the plurality of moving apparatuses; anda processor configured to assign a plurality of individual cleaningregions based on current locations of the plurality of movingapparatuses, throughout a whole cleaning region, based on informationreceived through the communicator, and control a command, which isissued to clean the individual cleaning regions assigned to theplurality of moving apparatuses, to be transmitted through thecommunicator. Thus, the individual cleaning regions are assigned basedon the location information about the plurality of cleaning robots, anda collaborative clean is efficiently carried out with a total shortenedcleaning time.

The terminal apparatus may further include a display configured todisplay a user interface (UI), and the processor may be configured tocontrol the plurality of individual cleaning regions to be assigned tothe plurality of moving apparatuses based on a user input to the UI. TheUI may include a plurality of items to input a setting value forassigning the individual cleaning regions to the plurality of movingapparatuses. Thus, it is possible to assign the individual cleaningregion through the UI of the terminal apparatus, thereby improvingconvenience for a user.

The processor may be configured to display a map of the whole cleaningregion on the display, and assign the plurality of individual cleaningregions to the plurality of moving apparatuses based on a user input tothe displayed map. Thus, the map allows a user to easily identify thecurrent locations of the cleaning robots, and it is thus possible tomore efficiently divide the cleaning region.

The processor may be configured to generate a map of the whole cleaningregion based on data received from at least one moving apparatus throughthe communicator. The processor may be configured to receive locationinformation from the plurality of moving apparatuses through thecommunicator, and control the display to map and display the receivedlocation information on the map. Thus, the map, which is generated usingthe sensor provided in at least one cleaning robot for performing thecollaborative clean, is used in dividing the cleaning region.

The display may be configured to display a UI to set priority withregard to the plurality of moving apparatuses for cleaning, and theprocessor may be configured to transmit priority information set throughthe UI to a matching moving apparatus through the communicator. Thus,the collaborative clean is achieved by the prioritized cleaning robothaving priority with regard to a predetermined cleaning region, and itis thus possible to efficiently share the collaborative clean betweenthe cleaning robots.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a collaborative cleancontrol method of a plurality of moving apparatuses for cleaningincludes: assigning a plurality of individual cleaning regions to theplurality of moving apparatuses capable of communicating with oneanother based on current locations; and allowing the plurality of movingapparatuses to travel and clean the assigned individual cleaning region.Thus, the individual cleaning regions are assigned based on the locationinformation about the plurality of cleaning robots, and a collaborativeclean is efficiently carried out with a total shortened cleaning time.

Each current location of the plurality of moving apparatuses maycorresponds to a location of a charging station. The method may furtherinclude identifying the current locations by the plurality of movingapparatuses based on data obtained by a detector provided in at leastone moving apparatus. Thus, it is possible to efficiently control thecollaborative clean based on the current location regardless of whetherthe start location of the cleaning robot is fixed or flexile.

The method may further include generating a map based on data obtainedby a detector provided in at least one moving apparatus; and mapping thecurrent locations of the plurality of moving apparatuses on thegenerated map. The generation of the map may include receiving a mapincluding the matching individual cleaning region from two or moremoving apparatuses; and generating a merged map by merging the receivedmaps of the individual cleaning regions. Thus, the map is used to moreefficiently divide the cleaning region.

The assignment of the plurality of individual cleaning regions maycomprise assigning the plurality of individual cleaning regions throughthe UI displayed on the terminal apparatus capable of communicating withthe plurality of moving apparatuses. Thus, it is more convenient for auser.

Advantageous Effects

As described above, there are provided a moving apparatus for cleaning,a collaborative cleaning system, and a method of controlling the same,in which a plurality of cleaning robots are assigned with individualcleaning regions based on their location information, thereby havingeffects on shortening a total cleaning time and achieving an effectivecollaborative clean.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a collaborative cleaning system according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a collaborative cleaning system according to anotherembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a moving apparatus for cleaningaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure, and

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the moving apparatus for cleaning in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a terminal apparatus according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates screens for setting individual cleaning regions ofcleaning robots according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates screens for setting individual cleaning regions ofcleaning robots according to another embodiment of the disclosure.

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate screens for setting individual cleaning regionsof cleaning robots according to still another embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates automatic settings for individual cleaning regionsaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates a process of detecting current locations of aplurality of cleaning robots according to an embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 12 illustrates a process of merging maps according to an embodimentof the disclosure.

FIGS. 13 to 16 illustrate a process of performing a collaborative cleanby giving priority to a plurality of cleaning robots according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of a method of controlling a collaborative cleanaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

BEST MODE

Below, embodiments of the disclosure will be described in detail withreference to accompanying drawings. In the following descriptions of theembodiments with matters illustrated in the accompanying drawings, likenumerals or symbols refer to like elements having substantially the samefunctions.

In the disclosure, at least one among a plurality of elements refers tonot only all the plurality of elements but also both each one of theplurality of elements excluding the other elements or a combinationthereof.

FIG. 1 illustrates a collaborative cleaning system according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 1 , a collaborative cleaning system 10 according to anembodiment of the disclosure includes a plurality of cleaning robots100, 101, . . . , 102 which can communicate with one another through anetwork.

According to an embodiment, the plurality of cleaning robots 100, 101, .. . , 102 perform communication with one another through a predeterminednetwork. The network shown in FIG. 1 refers to a private networkaccessible to a wide area network, i.e. a public network, and mayinclude a gateway to which a predetermined address is allocated, and arouter or the like access point (AP).

The plurality of cleaning robots 100, 101, . . . , 102 includes acommunicator (see ‘110’ in FIG. 4 ) for communication with one another.As an example of the communicator, there is a Wi-Fi communicationmodule.

Alternatively, the plurality of cleaning robots 100, 101, . . . , 102may perform direct communication with one another without the AP. Inthis case, the communicator 110 provided in the plurality of cleaningrobots 100, 101, . . . , 102 may include at least one of communicationmodules based on Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy, infrared dataassociation (IrDA), Wi-Fi Direct, Zigbee, ultra wideband (UWB), nearfield communication (NFC), long term evolution (LTE), etc.

The collaborative cleaning system 10 of FIG. 1 may further include aserver (not shown) configured to communicate with the plurality ofcleaning robots 100, 101, . . . , 102. Here, the server may be connectedvia the public network to which the network is accessible, and includesa cloud server. The server receives data including location informationfrom the plurality of cleaning robots 100, 101, . . . , 102, and controlthe cleaning robots 100, 101, . . . , 102 to collaboratively clean acleaning region based on the received data.

FIG. 2 illustrates a collaborative cleaning system according to anotherembodiment of the disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 2 , a collaborative cleaning system 11 according toanother embodiment of the disclosure further includes a terminalapparatus 300 as compared with the foregoing embodiment.

The plurality of cleaning robots 100, 101, . . . , 102 may communicatewith one another through the AP or directly as described in theforegoing embodiment.

According to an embodiment, the terminal apparatus 300 may be embodiedby a mobile device such as a cellular phone, a smart phone, a tabletcomputer or the like smart pad, etc. In this embodiment, the terminalapparatus 300 may be embodied by a personal computer (PC) including alaptop or desktop computer. Alternatively, the terminal apparatus 300may be embodied by a television (TV) such as a smart TV. In other words,the terminal apparatus 300 in the collaborative cleaning system 11according to the disclosure includes various apparatuses having adisplay (see ‘330’ in FIG. 5 ) and allowing a user to make an input.

The terminal apparatus 300 is installed with at least one program, i.e.a cleaning robot application that provides services for managing andcontrolling the plurality of cleaning robots 100, 101, . . . , 102. Thisapplication may be distributed by a cleaning robot manufacturer and thelike, released as being embedded while the terminal apparatus 300 ismanufactured, or downloaded from an App store and the like market andinstalled in the terminal apparatus 300.

A user may use the program installed in the terminal apparatus 300 tomonitor the statuses of the plurality of cleaning robots 100, 101, . . ., 102, and control the cleaning robots 100, 101, . . . , 102 to carryout a proper collaborative clean. For example, through the programinstalled in the terminal apparatus 300, a user may assign the pluralityof cleaning robots 100, 101, . . . , 102 with the individual cleaningregions, and make a user input for transmitting a control signalincluding a command issued to control the cleaning robots 100, 101, . .. , 102 to clean their assigned regions. Here, the control signal istransmitted to the plurality of cleaning robots 100, 101, . . . , 102through a predetermined network or directly.

The collaborative cleaning system 11 of FIG. 2 may further include aserver (not shown) configured to communicate with the plurality ofcleaning robots 100, 101, . . . , 102 and the terminal apparatus 300.According to an embodiment, the server may be accessed by the same useraccount as the terminal apparatus 300.

In the foregoing collaborative cleaning systems 10 and 11 according tothe embodiments of the disclosure, each of the cleaning robots 100, 101,. . . , 102 refers to a moving apparatus that autonomously moves andperforms a predetermined operation, and an auxiliary apparatus isadditionally provided to assist the moving apparatus in the operation ina state that the auxiliary apparatus is separated from the movingapparatus and installed at a predetermined stationary location.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a moving apparatus for cleaningaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure, and FIG. 4 is a blockdiagram of the moving apparatus for cleaning in FIG. 3 .

The shape and configuration of the moving apparatus 100 for cleaning inFIGS. 3 and 4 are applied to all the cleaning robots in the systems 10and 11 as well as the cleaning robots 101 and 102 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

In this embodiment shown in FIG. 3 , the moving apparatus for cleaningrefers to a cleaning robot 100, which autonomously moves and cleans afloor within an area of a predetermined range, and the auxiliaryapparatus refers to a charging apparatus 200 provided as a chargingstation (hereinafter, referred to as a docking station or a basestation), which charges a battery of the cleaning robot 100. However,there are no limits to each scheme for embodying the moving apparatusand the auxiliary apparatus to which the concept of the disclosure isapplied, and various kinds of apparatuses as well as the cleaning robot100 and the charging apparatus 200 may be embodied as the movingapparatus or the auxiliary apparatus.

In an embodiment, the cleaning robot 100 may be embodied by anautonomous traveling apparatus that includes a detector 150 capable ofdetecting ambient environments, recognizes its own location and moves toa destination.

The cleaning robot 100 as shown in FIG. 3 includes a main body 101forming an outer appearance and installed with general elements, atraveler 120 moving the cleaning robot 100 in a predetermined direction,a cleaner 130 cleaning a floor as the cleaning robot 100 moves, and adetector 150 detecting an environment around the cleaning robot 100. Theforegoing elements are some elements, which are provided outside themain body 101, among all the elements of the cleaning robot 100.

Driving power for the general operations of the cleaning robot 100 suchas the traveler 120 and the cleaner 130 is given by a built-in battery(see ‘180’ in FIG. 4 ) of the main body 101, and the cleaning robot 100is provided with a charging terminal for charging the battery 180.

To move the cleaning robot 100, the traveler 120 basically includes oneor more wheels to be in contact with on a floor, a motor used as adriver for generating the driving power for the movement, and a link andshaft structure for transferring the driving power of the motor to thewheels.

The traveler 120 includes a plurality of wheels, which are individuallydriven, so that the cleaning robot 100 can have various movements suchas a forward movement, a backward movement, a turning movement, astationary movement, etc. The moving direction and speed of the cleaningrobot 100, caused by the traveler 120, are determined by a controlsignal transmitted from a processor (see ‘190’ in FIG. 4 ) in thecleaning robot 100 to the motor.

According to an embodiment, the traveler 120 may further include asteering device for physically changing each angle of a plurality ofwheels in response to a control signal of the processor 190.

According to an alternative embodiment, each number of revolutions ofthe plurality of wheels in the traveler 120 may be controlled inresponse to a control signal of the processor 190, so that the movingcleaning robot 100 can be subjected to traveling direction control, i.e.steered.

The cleaner 130 includes a brush for sweeping foreign materials such asdust or the like on a floor, a suction module for sucking the sweptforeign materials, a storage tank for storing the suctioned foreignmaterials, etc. The cleaner 130 operates to clean a floor while thecleaning robot 100 is moving or remains stationary by the traveler 120.

The detector 150 includes at least one sensor capable of identifyingambient environments. The detector 150 is configured to detectenvironments around the cleaning robot 100 which is moving or doing aclean. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the detector 150refers to a location recognition module capable of recognizing thelocation of the cleaning robot 100 based on sensed results of thesensor.

The sensor of the detector 150 includes an image sensor provided in acamera, a LiDAR sensor, a 3D sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, an infrared(IR) sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a laser sensor, a radar sensor, aposition sensitive detector (PSD), or the like location recognitionsensor.

According to an embodiment, the location recognition sensor may use aradio wave to measure a distance and detect an object. The detector 150may transmit a detection signal frontward and receive a reflected signalthrough the location recognition sensor, and detect ambient environmentsincluding an obstacle based on the received reflected signal. Thedetection signal used in the location recognition sensor may have anunrestricted frequency band, and have a spectrum in the form of energydistributed in a wide frequency band. For example, the detection signalmay be embodied by an ultra-wideband (UWB) RF signal, and thus minimizeinterference with other signals (for global positioning system (GPS),Bluetooth, Zigbee, WLAN, etc.) of which frequency bands are relativelynarrow.

The image sensor generates an image by taking or capturing the image ofthe surroundings of the cleaning robot 100.

There are no limits to places where the camera is installed in the mainbody 101, and the camera according to an embodiment is installed at afront or upper portion of the main body 101 so as to capture a forwardside of the cleaning robot 100, i.e. a moving direction in which thecleaning robot 100 moves. In an embodiment, the cleaning robot 100 mayinclude a plurality of cameras.

The camera includes a lens through which a captured image passes, and animage sensor. The image sensor, to which a complementary metal-oxidesemiconductor (CMOS) detector or a charge coupled device (CCD) detectormay be applied, captures the forward side of the cleaning robot 100 andgenerates a digital image based on captured results.

The camera may be mounted with various kinds of optical lenses tocapture a surrounding image in a wider range or more precisely.

According to an embodiment, the camera employs a lens of which a viewangle is wide enough to capture all surrounding regions even at apredetermined position. Further, the camera is installed to face upwardand thus configured to capture the whole regions of the ceiling. Thecleaning robot 100 may identify its own location based on such imagedata obtained by capturing the ceiling, or generate a map of the ceilingregion. Further, a previously generated map may be modified based onimage data, or a merged map of the whole cleaning region may begenerated based on image data captured by other cleaning robots.

In an embodiment, the location recognition sensor of the detector 150 isinstalled on the front or top of the main body 101 to detect an obstaclelocated in a traveling direction of the cleaning robot 100. In anembodiment, there may be a plurality of location recognition sensors.For example, the plurality of sensors may be installed as arranged inseries on the front top or bottom of the main body 101. The plurality ofsensors may transmit detection signals in sequence, and sequentiallyreceive reflection signals of the detection signals.

The cleaning robot 100 according to an embodiment of the disclosure mayuse the data obtained by the detector 150 to autonomous generate ormodify the map.

Besides, the cleaning robot 100 may further include various elements,for example, a user interface (UI) 160 installed in the main body 101,receiving a user input, and displaying status information of thecleaning robot 100.

According to an embodiment, the UI 160 may include an input buttonstructure such as a power button for turning on and off the cleaningrobot 100, a toggle button for starting and stopping the operation ofthe cleaning robot 100, a returning button for returning the cleaningrobot 100 to the charging apparatus 200, etc. and a display fordisplaying a current status of the cleaning robot 100 and a statuscorresponding to a user's instruction.

According to an embodiment, the UI 160 may further include a voice inputreceiver for receiving a voice/sound uttered by a user. The voice inputreceiver may be embodied by a microphone that receives an audio signal.

The charging apparatus 200 is installed at a certain stationary locationwithin a use environment of the cleaning robot 100, and connected to anexternal power source. According to an embodiment, the chargingapparatus 200 is installed at a predetermined location in one certainregion of the individual cleaning regions.

The charging apparatus 200 basically charges the battery of the cleaningrobot 100 when the cleaning robot 100 is docked thereon, andadditionally performs various maintenance operations of the cleaningrobot 100.

The charging apparatus 200 as shown in FIG. 3 includes a main body 201forming an outer appearance and provided with general elements, and acharging connector 210 connectable with a charging terminal provided inthe cleaning robot 100.

In addition, the charging apparatus 200 may further include variouselements, for example, a power control circuit internally provided toconvert external power (alternating current, AC) into charging power(direct current, DC) and supply the charging power (DC) to the battery180 of the cleaning robot 100 through the charging connector 210.

According to an embodiment, the cleaning robot 100 may have a fixedstart location for performing a clean. For example, the cleaning robot100 may be previously set to receive a cleaning command while beingdocked on a charging station 200. In this case, the start location isfixed to the docking location.

According to an alternative embodiment, the cleaning robot 100 may havean unfixed, i.e. flexible start location for performing a clean. In thiscase, the cleaning robot 100 autonomously identifies its own locationbased on the data of the detector 150, and starts a cleaning operationby regarding the identified location as the start location. Here, thecleaning robot 100 may perform a preset operation, for example, arotating operation or the like to identify the location.

Below, the internal elements of the cleaning robot 100 will bedescribed.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a cleaning robot according to anembodiment.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the cleaning robot 100 includes a communicator 110,a traveler 120, a cleaner 130, a detector 150, a UI 160, a storage 170,a battery 180, and a processor 190.

The traveler 120, the cleaner 130, the detector 150, and the userinterface 160 are equivalent to those described above in relation to theembodiment of FIG. 3 .

The communicator 110 includes a communication circuit, a communicationchip or the like hardware to perform wireless communication with othercleaning robots of the collaborative cleaning system 10 or 11 throughvarious wireless protocols. In accordance with the protocols supportedin the communicator 110, the cleaning robot 100 may access the AP tothereby perform communication with other cleaning robots through apredetermined network or to thereby directly perform communication withother cleaning robots. The communicator 110 may support various wirelesscommunication protocols such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, IrDA, RF, ZigBee,Wi-Fi direct, LTE, etc.

The cleaning robot 100 according to an embodiment may furthercommunicate with a certain external apparatus, e.g. at least one of thecharging station 200, the terminal apparatus 300, or the server throughthe communicator 110.

The storage 170 is configured to store or load data. The storage 170includes a nonvolatile memory in which data is retained regardless ofwhether system power is supplied or not, and a volatile memory in whichdata, e.g. a control program to be processed by the processor 190 istemporarily loaded. The nonvolatile memory includes a flash memory,erasable and programmable read only memory (EPROM), a hard disk drive(HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a read only memory (ROM), etc. Thevolatile memory includes a random access memory (RAM), a buffer, etc.

The storage 170 of the cleaning robot 100 according to an embodiment ofthe disclosure is configured to store the map of the cleaning region.Here, the stored map includes an obstacle map showing the cleaningregion, and an internally stored feature map. The cleaning robot 100uses the feature map in identifying its own current location.

The storage 170 may be configured to further store data, e.g. a controlprogram, an application, an algorithm, etc. for the operations of thecleaning robot 100 in relation to cleaning, charging, traveling, etc.The storage 170 of the cleaning robot 100 according to an embodiment ofthe disclosure is configured to store an algorithm for collaborating ona clean with other cleaning robots.

The battery 180 for supplying power to operate the cleaning robot 100 isprovided to be rechargeable when internal power is exhausted, so that itcan be used again. The battery 180 supplies power of a preset voltage tothe elements of the cleaning robot 100 in response to a control signalfrom the processor 190. The battery 180 has a terminal via which powerfrom the charging connector 210 of the charging station 200 istransferred to the battery 180 while the cleaning robot 100 is beingdocked on the charging station 200.

According to an embodiment, the battery 140 may be provided with asensor for sensing remaining power, and thus the processor 190 checksinformation about the remaining power of the battery.

The processor 190 refers to a circuit embodied by combination of a CPU,a chipset and a microcontroller, or by a system on chip (SoC). Theprocessor 190 performs computing and directing operations for generaloperations to be performed by the cleaning robot 100 in accordance witha control program.

The control program may include a program(s) achieved by a basicinput/output system (BIOS), a device driver, an operating system, afirmware, a platform and an application. According to an embodiment, theapplication may be previously installed or stored when the cleaningrobot 100 is manufactured, or may be installed in the cleaning robot 100based on application data received from the outside when required in thefuture. The application data may for example be downloaded from anapplication market and the like external server to the cleaning robot100. Such an external server is one example of a computer programproduct according to the disclosure, but the present inventive conceptis not limited thereto.

The processor 190 of the cleaning robot 100 according to an embodimentof the disclosure includes a navigation module configured to generate acontrol signal for controlling motion, i.e. movement of the cleaningrobot 100, and a simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) moduleconfigured to identify the current location of the cleaning robot 100.

The cleaning robot 100 moves, i.e. travels in the cleaning zone based onthe control signal generated by the navigation module, and thus theobstacle map is generated.

The SLAM module is provided to support a localization function foridentifying the current location of the cleaning robot 100 based on thedata obtained through the detector 150, and a re-localization functionfor identifying the current location again based on the informationabout the feature map. The feature map may be generated by theoperations of the SLAM module.

The processor 190 of the cleaning robot 100 according to an embodimentof the disclosure controls the traveler 120 and the cleaner 130 toperform the collaborative clean in a predetermined cleaning region,while communicating with other cleaning robots through the communicator110.

Here, the processor 190 may control the plurality of cleaning robots100, 101, . . . , 102 to be grouped, and control the groups of thecleaning robots 100, 101, . . . , 102 to be assigned with the individualcleaning regions.

According to an embodiment, the individual cleaning regions may beautomatically divided or assigned based on the location information, themap, etc. of the cleaning robots 100, 101, . . . , 102 grouped by theprocessor 190, or set by a user input made through the UI 160. Here, theindividual cleaning regions may be fixed to predetermined locations ofthe cleaning robots 100, 101, . . . , 102, e.g. the location of thecharging station 200, or may be identified based on detection results ofthe detector 150 with regard to the flexible locations.

According to an alternative embodiment, the individual cleaning regionsmay be set by the terminal apparatus 300, the server, etc. andrespectively received in the corresponding cleaning robots 100, 101, . .. , 102 through the communicator 110. A user may use the map displayedon the terminal apparatus 300, or input a predetermined setting valuethrough the displayed UI (hereinafter, also referred to as a graphicuser interface (GUI)), thereby setting the cleaning robots 100, 101, . .. , 102 to be assigned with the individual cleaning regions.

As described above, the processor 190 of a predetermined cleaning robot100 according to an embodiment of the disclosure identifies theindividual cleaning regions corresponding to the matching movingapparatus 100 for cleaning among the plurality of individual cleaningregions assigned to the matching cleaning robot 100 and at least onedifferent cleaning robots 101 and 102 according to their currentlocations with respect to the whole cleaning regions based on theinformation received through the communicator 110, and controls thetraveler 120 and the cleaner 130 to perform a clean while traveling inthe identified individual cleaning regions.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a terminal apparatus according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

An terminal apparatus 300 is wirelessly connected to other apparatusessuch as the cleaning robots 100, 101, . . . , 102 and transmits/receivesthe control signal. According to an embodiment, the terminal apparatus300 is defined as an apparatus that has a touch screen andtransmits/receives data through a communicator 310. According to analternative embodiment, the terminal apparatus 300 is defined as anapparatus that receives a user input through an input unit such as amouse, a keyboard, a remote controller, etc., and performs networkcommunication through the communicator 310.

The terminal apparatus 300, as shown in FIG. 5 , includes thecommunicator 310, an image processor 320, a display 330, a UI 360, astorage 370, and a processor 390.

The communicator 310 of the terminal apparatus 300 is providedcorresponding to communication standards for a communicator 110 of thecleaning robot 100, and performs communication with the plurality ofcleaning robots 100, 101, . . . , 102 directly or through apredetermined network formed by the AP.

According to an embodiment, the communicator 310 further includes amobile communicator, and the mobile communicator may connect with anexternal apparatus through one or at least two antennas under control ofthe processor 390. The mobile communicator transmits and receives awireless signal for a voice call, a video call, a short message service(SMS), a multimedia messaging service (MMS), and data communication toand from a cellular phone, a smart phone, a tablet, or other terminalapparatuses (or portable apparatuses) which have a phone number forconnection with the terminal apparatus 300.

The image processor 320 may include a broadcast communication unit, anaudio play unit or a video play unit. The broadcast communication unitmay receive a broadcast signal from an external broadcasting stationthrough a broadcast communication antenna under control of the processor390. Further, the image processor 320 may process the received broadcastsignal and broadcast appended information to be reproduced in thedisplay 330 and/or a loudspeaker through a video codec unit and/or anaudio codec unit.

The display 330 displays an image based on an image signal processed bythe image processor 320. There are no limits to the types of the display330. For example, the display 330 may be embodied by various displaytypes such as liquid crystal, plasma, a light-emitting diode, an organiclight-emitting diode, a surface-conduction electron-emitter, a carbonnano-tube, nano-crystal, etc. The display 330 may further include adriver and the like additional components according to its types.

The display 330 may display objects 100, 101, . . . , 102, for example,a menu, a text, an image, a moving image, a figure, an icon, and ashortcut icon) including menu items of the terminal apparatus 300, as aUI. According to an embodiment, the object is displayed on an initialscreen of the terminal apparatus 300, and includes a cleaning robot icon(see 301 in FIG. 2 ) corresponding to an application for controlling thecleaning robot.

A user may make a user input by selecting the object displayed on thedisplay 330 with a user's body such as a finger or a stylus, a pointingdevice, a mouse, or the like input device.

In the terminal apparatus 300 according to the embodiment of FIG. 5 ,the UI 360 may be defined to include at least one among a physicalbutton, a keypad displayed on the touch screen, a separate input device(e.g. a stylus, a pointing device, etc.) allowing a user's touch input,an input device (e.g. a mouse, a keyboard, etc.) connectable to theterminal apparatus, and a microphone capable of receiving a user'svoice/sound.

The UI 360 may receive a touch of a user's body (e.g. a finger) on thetouch screen. The UI 360 transmits various preset control commands orinformation to the processor 390 in response to a user's input includinga touch input. According to an embodiment, the UI 360 of the terminalapparatus 300 may receive a user's interaction with content displayed onthe display 330, i.e. receive a gesture input.

The UI 360 may include at least one of one or at least two buttons, themicrophone, the keypad or the input device. In the terminal apparatus300 according to an embodiment, the button includes not only thephysical button but also a touch button provided on the touch screen,and the touch button may be displayed as a text or icon on the display330. The keypad includes at least one of a physical keypad formed on thefront of the terminal apparatus 300, a virtual keypad displayed on thedisplay 330, or an external keypad connected by a wire or wirelessly(for example, a keyboard dock).

According to an embodiment, the UI 360 may set the individual cleaningregions based on a map or UI displayed on the display 330, andinformation about such set individual cleaning regions is transmitted tothe cleaning robot.

The storage 370 is configured to store various pieces of data about theterminal apparatus 300. The storage 370 may be embodied by a nonvolatilememory (e.g. a writable ROM) which retains data even though the terminalapparatus 300 is powered off, and allows writing to reflect changes. Inother words, the storage 370 may be embodied by one of a flash memory,an EPROM or an electrically erasable and programmable read only memory(EEPROM). The storage 370 may further include a volatile memory such asa dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or a static random access memory(SRAM) in which reading or writing speed of the terminal apparatus ishigher than that of the nonvolatile memory.

The data stored in the storage 370 may for example include not only anoperating system for driving the terminal apparatus 300 but also variousapplications, image data, appended data, etc. executable under thisoperating system. The storage 370 may be configured to store a controlprogram for controlling the terminal apparatus 300, information about aUI provided by a manufacturer or received from a server and the likeoutside, images for providing the UI, user information, or relevantdata.

The processor 390 performs control for operating general components ofthe terminal apparatus 300. The processor 390 refers to at least oneprocessor for performing such control operation, and includes one of aCPU, an application processor (AP), or a microcomputer (MICOM). Theprocessor 390 loads at least a part of the control program from thenonvolatile memory, i.e. the ROM, in which the control program (or theinstruction) is installed, to the volatile memory, i.e. the RAM, andexecutes the control program.

The processor may include a single-core processor, a dual-coreprocessor, a triple-core processor, a quad-core processor, and the likemultiple-core processor. The processor may include a plurality ofprocessors, for example, a main processor and a sub processor thatoperates in a sleep mode, e.g. when the display apparatus receives onlystandby power and does not fully operates. Further, the processor, theROM, and the RAM are connected to one another through an internal bus.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, when the terminalapparatus 300 is embodied by a desktop or laptop computer, the processor390 may further include a graphic processing unit (GPU, not shown) forgraphic processing.

Further, according to an alternative embodiment, when the terminalapparatus 300 is embodied by a mobile device such as a smartphone or asmart pad, or by a smart TV, the processor 390 may include the GPU. Forexample, the processor 390 may be embodied in the form of a SoC wherethe core and the GPU are combined.

The control program may include a program(s) achieved by at least one ofa BIOS, a device driver, an operating system, a firmware, a platform andan application. According to an embodiment, the application may bepreviously installed or stored when the terminal apparatus 300 ismanufactured, or may be installed in the terminal apparatus 300 based onapplication program data received from the outside when required in thefuture. The application data may for example be downloaded from anapplication market and the like external server to the terminalapparatus 300. Such an external server is one example of a computerprogram product according to the disclosure, but the present inventiveconcept is not limited thereto.

Below, it will be described that the terminal apparatus 300 is used toset the individual cleaning regions.

FIG. 6 illustrates screens for setting individual cleaning regions ofcleaning robots according to an embodiment of the disclosure, whichincludes a UI for setting the individual cleaning regions without usingthe map of the cleaning space.

For example, as shown in (a) of FIG. 6 , the display 330 of the terminalapparatus 300 displays a UI with a plurality of items 601, 602 and 603by which maximum ranges Max. Range are input as setting values to setthe individual cleaning regions for a plurality of grouped cleaningrobots 100, 101, . . . , 102, for example, a first robot Robot #1, asecond robot Robot #2 and an Nth robot Robot #N. Here, the maximum rangerefers to a distance as a radius with respect to the location of each ofthe cleaning robots 100, 101, . . . , 102. A user inputs a setting valuefor a distance corresponding to the maximum range of each individualcleaning region, and thus the processor 390 identifies the individualcleaning regions of the first robot, the second robot, and the Nthrobot.

For another example, as shown in (b) of FIG. 6 , the display 330 of theterminal apparatus 300 displays a UI with a plurality of items 611, 612,613, 614, 615 and 616 by which a maximum range and an offset value areinput as setting values for setting the individual cleaning regions forthe first robot, the second robot, and the Nth robot which are grouped.Here, the maximum range refers to a distance as a radius with respect tothe location of each of the cleaning robots 100, 101, . . . , 102, andthe offset value refers to a deviation applicable to the distance. Theprocessor 390 sets the individual cleaning regions of which the radiiare based on the distances corresponding to the maximum ranges input forthe first robot, the second robot, and the Nth robot, and adjust theranges of the individual cleaning regions based on the input offsetvalues.

For still another example, as shown in (C) of FIG. 6 , the display 330of the terminal apparatus 300 may display a UI with a plurality of items631 and 632 by which a distance and an orientation between the cleaningrobots are input as setting values for setting the individual cleaningregions for the first robot, the second robot, and the Nth robot whichare grouped. The processor 390 sets the individual cleaning regions ofwhich the radii are based on predetermined distances for the first robotand the second robot in response to the input distance and orientation.

FIG. 7 illustrates screens for setting individual cleaning regions ofcleaning robots according to another embodiment of the disclosure, whichincludes a UI for setting the individual cleaning regions by using themap of the cleaning space.

According to the disclosure, for example, the map of the whole cleaningregion includes individual cleaning regions A00, A02 and A03 previouslydivided as shown in FIG. 7. However, the disclosure is not limited tothis example, and the whole cleaning region may be artificially dividedby a user input or the like to set the individual cleaning regions.

For example, as shown in (a) of FIG. 7 , the display 330 of the terminalapparatus 300 displays a map of the whole cleaning regions divided intoA00, A01 and A02. Here, the displayed map of the cleaning region may bepreviously generated based on at least one cleaning robot, and receivedin the terminal apparatus 300 from the corresponding cleaning robot, theserver or the like through the communicator 310.

Referring to (a) of FIG. 7 , a first cleaning robot #1 701 and a secondcleaning robot #2 702 are respectively displayed at their stationarylocations as docked to the charging stations 200 within the map, and amessage 705 saying that the robot is being charged may be additionallydisplayed.

A user may set and adjust the individual cleaning regions by draggingregions 703 and 704 for the first cleaning robot #1 and the secondcleaning robot #2. With this, referring to (a) of FIG. 7 , the processor390 sets the individual cleaning region for the first cleaning robot #1to include partial regions A01 and A00, and sets the individual cleaningregion for the second cleaning robot #2 to include partial regions ofA02 and A00. When the individual cleaning regions are completely set anda user selects a start button 706, the processor 390 transmits acommand, which is issued to the corresponding cleaning robots #1 and #2to clean their matching individual cleaning regions, through thecommunicator 110.

For another example, as shown in (b) of FIG. 7 , the display 330 of theterminal apparatus 300 displays a map of the cleaning regions dividedinto A00, A01 and A02, in which a first cleaning robot #1 711 and asecond cleaning robot #2 712 are respectively displayed at theirstationary locations as docked to the charging stations 200 within themap, and a message 715 saying that the robot is being charged may beadditionally displayed.

The screen shown in (b) of FIG. 7 further displays a UI with input boxes713 and 714 by which an input is allowed with regard to the individualcleaning regions for the first cleaning robot #1 and the second cleaningrobot #2. A user may set and adjust the individual cleaning regions byinputting region information to the input boxes 713 and 714corresponding to the cleaning robots #1 and #2. With this, referring to(b) of FIG. 7(b), the processor 390 sets the individual cleaning regionfor the first cleaning robot #1 to include A01 and A00, and sets theindividual cleaning region for the second cleaning robot #2 to includepartial regions of A00. When the individual cleaning regions arecompletely set and a user selects a start button 716, the processor 390transmits a command, which is issued to the corresponding cleaningrobots #1 and #2 to clean their matching individual cleaning regions,through the communicator 110.

For still another example, as shown in (C) of FIG. 7 , the display 330of the terminal apparatus 300 displays a map of the cleaning regiondivided into A00, A01 and A02, in which the first cleaning robot #1 721and the second cleaning robot #2 722 are respectively displayed at theirstationary locations as docked to the charging stations 200 within themap, and a message 725 saying that the robot is being charged may beadditionally displayed.

Here, as shown in (C) of FIG. 7 , automatic setting 723 may be selectedwith regard to the individual cleaning regions for the first cleaningrobot #1 and the second cleaning robot #2, and thus the processor 390automatically divides the cleaning region and sets the individualcleaning regions based on the map of the cleaning region, the locationsof the cleaning robots #1 and #2, etc. When the individual cleaningregions are completely set and a user selects a start button 726, theprocessor 390 transmits a command, which is issued to the correspondingcleaning robots #1 and #2 to clean their matching individual cleaningregions, through the communicator 110. A specific embodiment ofautomatically assigning the individual cleaning regions will bedescribed later in more detail with reference to FIG. 10 .

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate screens for setting individual cleaning regionsof cleaning robots according to still another embodiment of thedisclosure, which includes a UI for setting the individual cleaningregions by using the map of the cleaning space.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 , the display 330 of the terminalapparatus 300 displays a map of a cleaning region divided into R1, R2,R3 and R4.

When a cleaning robot A and a cleaning robot B are present within thecleaning region, and a user designates start locations 801 and 802 forthe cleaning robots A and B as shown in (a) of FIG. 8 , start locations811 and 812 for the cleaning robots A and B are updated and displayed asshown in (b) of FIG. 8 . Here, the start locations 811 and 812designated for the cleaning robots A and B may also be the locations ofthe charging stations 200.

A user may select a cleaning robot A 901 as shown in (a) of FIG. 9 andassign the selected cleaning robot A with the individual cleaning regionR1 911 as shown in (b) of FIG. 9 . In the same manner, a user may selecta cleaning robot B 902 and assign the selected cleaning robot A with theindividual cleaning region R2 912. Likewise, a user may select regionsR3 and R4 to be included in the individual cleaning regions for thecleaning robot A or B.

As above, it was described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9 that a user ofthe terminal apparatus 300 sets the individual cleaning regions for theplurality of cleaning robots through the UI displayed on the screen.However, the disclosure is not limited to the foregoing embodiments, andthe individual cleaning regions for the plurality of cleaning robots maybe set by using the map, without using the map, automatically, based ona user input, and the like various methods.

FIG. 10 illustrates automatic settings for individual cleaning regionsaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

The automatic settings for the individual cleaning regions, which willbe described with reference to FIG. 10 , may be performed by at leastone of the processor 190 of a predetermined cleaning robot 100 or theprocessor 390 of the terminal apparatus 300.

As shown in FIG. 10 , when the whole cleaning region includes individualcleaning regions A00 1010, A01 1011, and A02 1012, the areas of thewhole cleaning region and the individual cleaning regions may be asfollows.

The area of the whole cleaning region: 100 m²

The areas of the individual cleaning regions: A00 50 m², A01 30 m², A0220 m²

Here, when two cleaning robots are used to carry out a collaborativeclean, the area of the whole cleaning region is divided by the number ofcleaning robots, the individual cleaning regions are assigned as followsbased on the number of cases, and comparison in size between theassigned regions is made.

A00: 50, A01+A02: 50, and a difference is 0

A00+A01: 80, A02: 20, and a difference is 60

A00+A02: 70, A012: 30, and a difference is 40

Then, the case of the minimum difference between the assigned regions,i.e. ‘A00: 50, A01+A02: 50’ is selected, and the individual cleaningregions for the plurality of cleaning robots are identified in such amanner that a certain cleaning robot 1001 is assigned to ‘A00’ andanother cleaning robot 1002 is assigned to ‘A01+A02’.

FIG. 10 shows an example that the whole cleaning region includespreviously divided individual cleaning regions like A00, A01 and A02,but the automatic region assignment according to the disclosure may alsobe carried out even when there are no previously divided regions.

Specifically, the processor 190 or 390 may calculate the area of thewhole cleaning region, divide the whole cleaning region into theindividual cleaning regions for the cleaning robots to have the sameaverage area as many ad the number of cleaning robots with respect to upand down/left and right reference lines, and identify the divisionalregions as the individual cleaning regions.

Further, the foregoing two methods may be combined. For example, in acase of rooms, the rooms are identified as previously divided individualcleaning regions, and the cleaning robot is assigned to each room.Further, a living room is divided into regions to have the same area asmany as the number of cleaning robots, and the cleaning robot isassigned to each divided region.

For example, when it is assumed that A00 1010 is a living room and A011011 and A02 1012 are rooms in FIG. 12 , A01 1011 is assigned with afirst cleaning robot 1001, A02 1012 is assigned with a second cleaningrobot 1001, and A00 1010 is divided into regions to have the same areaof 25 m² and be respectively assigned with and cleaned by the first andsecond cleaning robots.

Here, the processor 190 and 390 may consider a distance between thecleaning robot and the individual cleaning regions, and control thecleaning robots to be assigned to the individual cleaning regions totravel the shortest distance.

Below, it will be described that the plurality of cleaning robots 100,101, . . . , 102 in the collaborative cleaning system 10 or 11 performsa collaborative clean according to various embodiments of thedisclosure.

The embodiments of carrying out the collaborative clean according to thedisclosure are equivalent in that the plurality of cleaning robots aregrouped, the grouped cleaning robots are respectively assigned with theindividual cleaning regions, and the cleaning robots clean theirassigned individual cleaning regions, but different as shown in thefollowing table 1 in assigning the individual cleaning regions orperforming a clean in each individual cleaning regions.

TABLE 1 Real start time map location map Priority characterized in thatis is is is first collaborative clean is not fixed not not embodimentperformed by setting used shared given individual cleaning regions withrespect to fixed locations of the cleaning robots second collaborativeclean is used fixed not not embodiment performed by setting sharedgiven/ individual cleaning given regions based on map where locations ofcleaning robots are fixed third collaborative clean is used flexible notnot embodiment performed by setting shared given/ individual cleaninggiven regions based on map where locations of cleaning robots areflexible fourth collaborative clean is not flexible shared notembodiment performed by used given additionally setting individualcleaning regions based on map shared in real time between cleaningrobots fifth collaborative clean is used fixed/ not given embodimentperformed by setting flexible shared individual cleaning regions basedon priority of cleaning robots

First Embodiment

In the first embodiment, the locations of the plurality of cleaningrobots are fixed at their charging stations, and the individual cleaningregions for the cleaning robots are set based on the fixed locations.

In the first embodiment, the individual cleaning regions for thecleaning robots are set without using the map. For example, as describedwith reference to FIG. 6 , a console, i.e. the terminal apparatus 300may be used in the setting. Here, as shown in (a) of FIG. 6 , a user mayinput a setting value for the maximum range, i.e. a distance as a radiuswith respect to a fixed location of a redetermined cleaning robot, andthus the individual cleaning regions for the corresponding cleaningrobots are identified. Further, as shown in (c) of FIG. 6 , a user mayinput setting values for a distance and an orientation between thecleaning robots, and thus the individual cleaning regions for thecorresponding cleaning robots are identified. Here, the identifiedcleaning region may have not only a circular shape but also arectangular shape or a certain shape corresponding to a real cleaningspace.

For another example, the individual cleaning regions may be set throughthe UI 160 of the cleaning robot 100 without using the terminalapparatus 300. Here, the setting of the individual cleaning regionsbased on the UI 160 includes setting based on voice recognition.

For still another example, the individual cleaning regions may beautomatically set in the respective cleaning robots without a userinput. To this end, the cleaning robot may identify a relative location,i.e. a distance, an orientation, etc. of another cleaning robot based ondata obtained through the detector 150, and thus the traveler 120 may becontrolled to perform initial rotation or the like previously setoperation. The cleaning robot sets the individual cleaning regions ofthe respective cleaning robots based on the relative locationsidentified as described above.

The processor 190 of each cleaning robot regards such a set individualcleaning region as a kind of virtual wall, and controls the cleaningrobot not to cross the virtual wall while carrying out a clean. Further,the cleaning robots are controlled to perform a clean whilecommunicating with one another through the network. In this process, astart and a finish of a clean, and status information related to abattery or the like may be shared among the cleaning robots.

In the foregoing first embodiment, various additional settings forcleaning are possible with regard to the cleaning robots or theindividual cleaning regions.

First, when the cleaning robot is automatically assigned with theindividual cleaning region based on its location relative to anothercleaning robot, the relative location may be taken into account tothereby additionally set cleaning directions for the plurality ofcleaning robots. In other words, when two cleaning robots are relativelylocated within a range shorter than a predetermined distance shorter,the two cleaning robots may perform a clean while travelling in oppositedirections. For example, the first cleaning robot is controlled toperform a clean while traveling by a left-handed technique, and thesecond cleaning robot is controlled to perform a clean while travelingby a right-handed technique.

Further, to schedule the cleaning robots, the plurality of cleaningrobots, i.e. the first cleaning robot and the second cleaning robot maybe set to perform cleans leaving a time gap therebetween. For example, adry clean in a first individual cleaning region and a wet clean in asecond individual cleaning region are scheduled for a first cleaningtime, and the wet clean in the first individual cleaning region and thedry clean in the second individual cleaning region are scheduled for asecond cleaning time. In this case, for the first cleaning time, a drycleaner, i.e. the first cleaning robot is assigned to the firstindividual cleaning region, and a wet cleaner, i.e. the second cleaningrobot is assigned to the second individual cleaning region. Further, forthe second cleaning time, the wet cleaner, i.e. the second cleaningrobot is assigned to the first individual cleaning region, and the drycleaner, i.e. the first cleaning robot is assigned to the secondindividual cleaning region.

Further, when it is detected that a battery of a certain cleaning robotis charging or used up, the clean may be controlled to be performedafter the charging is completed.

Further, a traveling motion may be set for each individual cleaningrobot. For example, the first cleaning robot may be controlled toperform cleaning while traveling in a zigzag pattern, and the secondcleaning robot may be controlled to perform cleaning while traveling ina spiral pattern.

Second Embodiment

In the second embodiment, the locations of the plurality of cleaningrobots, i.e. the start locations for cleaning are respectively fixed tothe locations of their charging stations, and the individual cleaningregions for the cleaning robots are set based on the fixed locations.

In the second embodiment, the individual cleaning regions for thecleaning robots are set based on the map showing the whole cleaningregion. For example, as described with reference to FIG. 7 , the settingmay be achieved based on a user gesture or the like with respect to themap displayed on the display 330 of the console, i.e. the terminalapparatus 300. Here, the displayed map of the cleaning region isgenerated by at least one cleaning robot, and transmitted to theterminal apparatus 300 through the communicator 310 by way of example.Alternatively, the map of the cleaning region may be received from theserver or the like reflecting actually measured locations.

While the map showing the cleaning region is generated, the startlocations of the cleaning robots may be mapped on the map. To this end,the plurality of cleaning robots may be controlled to be docked on theircharging stations and perform near field communication with the chargingstations, thereby mapping the start locations on the charging stations.On the map, the locations of the charging stations are input as thestart locations.

The map generated or input/received as above is transmitted to theterminal apparatus 300 through the network and displayed on the display330.

As described with reference to (a) or (b) of FIG. 7 , a user may set theindividual cleaning regions by inputting a text corresponding to adistance as a radius with respect to a predetermined cleaning robot,drawing based on dragging, etc. Further, as described with reference to(c) of FIG. 7 , the individual cleaning regions may be automatically setto perform cleaning within the shortest time by taking the startlocations of the cleaning robots into account without a user input.

The processor 190 of each cleaning robot regards such a set individualcleaning region as a kind of virtual wall, and controls the cleaningrobot not to cross the virtual wall while carrying out a clean. Further,the cleaning robots are controlled to perform a clean whilecommunicating with one another through the network. In this process, astart and a finish of a clean, and status information related to abattery or the like may be shared among the cleaning robots.

In the foregoing second embodiment, various additional settings forcleaning are possible with regard to the cleaning robots or theindividual cleaning regions.

First, two or more cleaning robots may be overlappingly set for apredetermined cleaning region. In this case, one cleaning robot may begiven higher priority than another cleaning robot. A case where thepriority is set will be described later in more detail in the followingfifth embodiment.

Further, to schedule the cleaning robots, the plurality of cleaningrobots, i.e. the first cleaning robot and the second cleaning robot maybe set to perform cleans leaving a time gap therebetween. For example, adry clean in a first individual cleaning region and a wet clean in asecond individual cleaning region are scheduled for a first cleaningtime, and the wet clean in the first individual cleaning region and thedry clean in the second individual cleaning region are scheduled for asecond cleaning time. In this case, for the first cleaning time, a drycleaner, i.e. the first cleaning robot is assigned to the firstindividual cleaning region, and a wet cleaner, i.e. the second cleaningrobot is assigned to the second individual cleaning region. Further, forthe second cleaning time, the wet cleaner, i.e. the second cleaningrobot is assigned to the first individual cleaning region, and the drycleaner, i.e. the first cleaning robot is assigned to the secondindividual cleaning region.

Further, when it is detected that a battery of a certain cleaning robotis charging or used up, the clean may be controlled to be performedafter the charging is completed.

Further, a traveling motion may be set for each individual cleaningrobot. For example, the first cleaning robot may be controlled toperform cleaning while traveling in a zigzag pattern, and the secondcleaning robot may be controlled to perform cleaning while traveling ina spiral pattern.

Third Embodiment

In the third embodiment, the start locations of the plurality ofcleaning robots are not fixed. The current locations of the cleaningrobots are identified, and the individual cleaning regions for thecleaning robots are set based on the identified locations.

In the third embodiment, the individual cleaning regions for thecleaning robots are set based on the map showing the whole cleaningregion. For example, like the second embodiment, the setting may beachieved based on a user gesture or the like with respect to the mapdisplayed on the display 330 of the console, i.e. the terminal apparatus300. Here, the displayed map of the cleaning region is generated by atleast one cleaning robot, and transmitted to the terminal apparatus 300through the communicator 310 by way of example. Alternatively, the mapof the cleaning region may be received from the server or the likereflecting actually measured locations.

However, the locations of the cleaning robots according to the thirdembodiment are not fixed, and therefore the processor 190 of thecleaning robot 100 performs localization or re-localization to identifyits own current location while the map is generated. With this, thecurrent locations of the cleaning robots are mapped on the map.

FIG. 11 illustrates a process of detecting current locations of aplurality of cleaning robots according to an embodiment of thedisclosure.

As shown in (a) of FIG. 11 , the map of the whole cleaning region 1100includes a ceiling patterns 1110 and 1120, and information about thesepatterns 1110 and 1120 may be obtained based on image data from theimage sensor of the detector 150 provided in the cleaning robot 100. Thepattern information around the cleaning robots 1101 and 1102 shown in(b) of FIG. 11 is compared with the pattern information included in themap, and then matching locations of the patterns 1111 and 1122 as shownin (c) of FIG. 11 are identified as the current locations of thecleaning robots 1101 and 1102.

The map generated as above and having the current mapping locations ofthe cleaning robots is transmitted to the terminal apparatus 300 throughthe network and displayed on the display 330.

As described with reference to (a) or (b) of FIG. 7 , a user may set theindividual cleaning regions by inputting a text corresponding to adistance as a radius with respect to the current location of thecleaning robot, drawing based on dragging, etc. Further, as describedwith reference to (c) of FIG. 7 , the individual cleaning regions may beautomatically set to perform cleaning within the shortest time by takingthe current locations of the cleaning robots into account without a userinput.

According to an embodiment, the map may show a location of a generalcleaner in addition to the locations of the cleaning robots autonomouslytraveling and performing a clean. To this end, a detector or the likelocation recognition module is provided in the general cleaner, and itis thus possible to identify a cleaning region to be cleaned by thegeneral cleaner. Further, a cleaning history of the general cleaner maybe used in setting the individual cleaning regions for the cleaningrobot. When a user uses the general cleaner to clean a predeterminedcleaning region and there is a cleaning history of the cleaning robotabout the cleaning region, the cleaning history may be provided to theuser through the terminal apparatus 300 or the like, thereby preventinga redundant double clean.

The processor 190 of each cleaning robot regards such a set individualcleaning region as a kind of virtual wall, and controls the cleaningrobot not to cross the virtual wall while carrying out a clean. Further,the cleaning robots are controlled to perform a clean whilecommunicating with one another through the network. In this process, astart and a finish of a clean, and status information related to abattery or the like may be shared among the cleaning robots.

In the foregoing third embodiment, various additional settings forcleaning are possible with regard to the cleaning robots or theindividual cleaning regions.

First, two or more cleaning robots may be overlappingly set for apredetermined cleaning region. In this case, one cleaning robot may begiven higher priority than another cleaning robot. A case where thepriority is set will be described later in more detail in the followingfifth embodiment.

Further, to schedule the cleaning robots, the plurality of cleaningrobots, i.e. the first cleaning robot and the second cleaning robot maybe set to perform cleans leaving a time gap therebetween. For example, adry clean in a first individual cleaning region and a wet clean in asecond individual cleaning region are scheduled for a first cleaningtime, and the wet clean in the first individual cleaning region and thedry clean in the second individual cleaning region are scheduled for asecond cleaning time. In this case, for the first cleaning time, a drycleaner, i.e. the first cleaning robot is assigned to the firstindividual cleaning region, and a wet cleaner, i.e. the second cleaningrobot is assigned to the second individual cleaning region. Further, forthe second cleaning time, the wet cleaner, i.e. the second cleaningrobot is assigned to the first individual cleaning region, and the drycleaner, i.e. the first cleaning robot is assigned to the secondindividual cleaning region.

Further, when it is detected that a battery of a certain cleaning robotis charging or used up, the clean may be controlled to be performedafter the charging is completed.

Further, a traveling motion may be set for each individual cleaningrobot. For example, the first cleaning robot may be controlled toperform cleaning while traveling in a zigzag pattern, and the secondcleaning robot may be controlled to perform cleaning while traveling ina spiral pattern.

Fourth Embodiment

In the fourth embodiment, the individual cleaning regions are set basedon real-time measured maps shared among the cleaning robots performing acollaborative clean, without using the map previously provided orpreviously generated by a certain cleaning robot.

In the fourth embodiment, the maps generated by the cleaning robotscleaning predetermined individual cleaning regions are shared in realtime through their networking, and the maps are merged when a matchingregion is found in the maps.

FIG. 12 illustrates a process of merging maps according to an embodimentof the disclosure.

As shown in (a) and (b) of FIG. 12 , a map generated by a first cleaningrobot 1201 includes information about a predetermined ceiling pattern1210, and a map generated by a second cleaning robot 1202 includesinformation about a predetermined ceiling pattern 1211.

At least one among the plurality of grouped cleaning robots, forexample, the first cleaning robot 1201 may receive the map generated bythe second cleaning robot 1202 through its communicator 110. Further, asshown in (c) of FIG. 12 , the first cleaning robot 1201 identifies amatching pattern 1212 between its own map (i.e. a first map) and areceived map (i.e. a second map) of another cleaning robot, andgenerates a merged map.

Here, the cleaning robot may be set to generate a map based on dataobtained with regard to a traveled region after traveling in a regionhaving a certain area, or may be set to generate a map based on dataobtained for a predetermined period of time after traveling for thetime. Further, when a predetermined signal is detected from a differentcleaning robot, data obtained up to that time is transmitted to thedifferent cleaning robot and controlled to be used in generating a map.Besides, when a trigger signal corresponding to a predetermined event isreceived, data obtained up to that time may be controlled to be used ingenerating a map.

In the fourth embodiment, the individual cleaning regions for thecleaning robots are shared through the merged map as shown in (c) ofFIG. 12 , and one of the grouped cleaning robots is assigned to anunoccupied individual cleaning region to which any cleaning robot is notassigned, thereby controlling the collaborative clean to be carried out.Such a merged map is applicable to both current and future collaborativecleans. Here, the assignment of the unassigned, i.e. unoccupiedindividual cleaning region may be based on one of automatic assignmentor assignment based on user selection described in the first to thirdembodiments.

According to an embodiment, the region assignment in the merged map mayfurther use information about a location of a general cleaner as well asthe locations of the cleaning robots autonomously traveling andperforming a clean. To this end, a detector or the like locationrecognition module is provided in the general cleaner, and it is thuspossible to identify a cleaning region to be cleaned by the generalcleaner. Further, a cleaning history of the general cleaner may be usedin setting the individual cleaning regions for the cleaning robot. Whena user uses the general cleaner to clean a predetermined cleaning regionand there is a cleaning history of the cleaning robot about the cleaningregion, the cleaning history may be provided to the user through theterminal apparatus 300 or the like, thereby preventing a redundantdouble clean.

The processor 190 of each cleaning robot regards such a set individualcleaning region as a kind of virtual wall, and controls the cleaningrobot not to cross the virtual wall while carrying out a clean. Further,the cleaning robots are controlled to perform a clean whilecommunicating with one another through the network. In this process, astart and a finish of a clean, and status information related to abattery or the like may be shared among the cleaning robots.

In the foregoing third embodiment, various additional settings forcleaning are possible with regard to the cleaning robots or theindividual cleaning regions.

First, two or more cleaning robots may be overlappingly set for apredetermined cleaning region. In this case, one cleaning robot may begiven higher priority than another cleaning robot. A case where thepriority is set will be described later in more detail in the followingfifth embodiment.

Further, to schedule the cleaning robots, the plurality of cleaningrobots, i.e. the first cleaning robot and the second cleaning robot maybe set to perform cleans leaving a time gap therebetween. For example, adry clean in a first individual cleaning region and a wet clean in asecond individual cleaning region are scheduled for a first cleaningtime, and the wet clean in the first individual cleaning region and thedry clean in the second individual cleaning region are scheduled for asecond cleaning time. In this case, for the first cleaning time, a drycleaner, i.e. the first cleaning robot is assigned to the firstindividual cleaning region, and a wet cleaner, i.e. the second cleaningrobot is assigned to the second individual cleaning region. Further, forthe second cleaning time, the wet cleaner, i.e. the second cleaningrobot is assigned to the first individual cleaning region, and the drycleaner, i.e. the first cleaning robot is assigned to the secondindividual cleaning region.

Further, a predetermined cleaning robot may take another role other thancleaning. For example, the first cleaning robot may be controlled toperform cleaning, and the second cleaning robot may be controlled toexplore a cleaning region and generate a map of the cleaning region.

Further, when it is detected that a battery of a certain cleaning robotis charging or used up, the clean may be controlled to be performedafter the charging is completed.

Further, a traveling motion may be set for each individual cleaningrobot. For example, the first cleaning robot may be controlled toperform cleaning while traveling in a zigzag pattern, and the secondcleaning robot may be controlled to perform cleaning while traveling ina spiral pattern.

Fifth Embodiment

In the fifth embodiment, the locations of the plurality of cleaningrobots may be fixed to the locations of their charging stations or maybe flexible, and the cleaning robots are given priority and controlledto perform cleaning the individual cleaning regions based on priority.

FIGS. 13 to 16 illustrate a process of performing a collaborative cleanby giving priority to a plurality of cleaning robots according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 13 , a user may use the terminal apparatus 300 toselect a predetermined cleaning robot, i.e. a cleaning robot A 1301 in acleaning region to be given higher priority than another cleaning robotB 1302. FIG. 13 shows an example that priority is set through a UI in astate that cleaning robots 1301 and 1302 are docked on their chargingstations, but the disclosure is not limited to this example. Forexample, even when the locations of the cleaning robots are flexiblelike the foregoing third embodiment, the plurality of cleaning robotsmay be given priority.

Further, according to the disclosure, three or more cleaning robots maybe given priority in sequence. Further, according to the disclosure,when a user does not set the priority, the priority may be automaticallygiven based on a predetermined reference by the terminal apparatus 300.

In the fifth embodiment, the plurality of cleaning robots performs thecollaborative clean in the whole cleaning region based on the priorityset as above. Here, the collaborative clean may be controlled by theprocessor 390 of the terminal apparatus 300 or the processor 190 of onecleaning robot 100.

For example, as described with reference to FIG. 13 , a user sets thecleaning robot A between the cleaning robots A and B present in oneindividual cleaning room R1 to have higher priority than the cleaningrobot B, and issues a command to perform the collaborative clean.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 14 , a cleaning robot A 1401 havinghigher priority cleans the individual cleaning region R1, and a cleaningrobot B 1402 is controlled to move to another near region, e.g. theindividual cleaning region R2 and perform a clean. Here, the cleaningrobot B 1402 may be controlled to move to a region R2 close to theregion R1 and perform a clean.

Then, as shown in (a) of FIG. 15 , when a cleaning robot A 1501 finishesthe clean for the individual cleaning region R1, the cleaning robot A1501 is controlled to move to another region except a region R2 beingcleaned by a cleaning robot B 1502, for example, to an individualcleaning region R3 and perform a clean. Further, as shown in (b) of FIG.15 , when the clean for the individual cleaning regions R3 is finished,the cleaning robot A 1501 is controlled to move to an individualcleaning regions R4 except R1, R2 and R3 and perform a clean.

When the cleaning robot A 1501 finishes the clean for the individualcleaning region R4, the cleaning robot A 1501 may be controlled toreturn to the start location A at which the charging station is locatedas shown in (b) of FIG. 15 or perform a collaborative clean for anothercleaning region. Here, the cleaning robot A 1501 is controlled to returnto the charging station or perform a collaborative clean for theindividual cleaning region R2, based on a cleaning progress of thecleaning robot B 1502 performing the collaborative clean.

Specifically, when a cleaning robot B 1602 cleans less than 50% of theindividual cleaning region R2, i.e. when there remains 50% or more ofthe region R2 to be cleaned, as shown in (a) of FIG. 16 a cleaning robotA 1601 is controlled to move to the individual cleaning region R2 andperform a collaborative clean for the individual cleaning region R2.

Thus, as shown in (b) of FIG. 16 , the cleaning robot A 1601 and thecleaning robot B 1602 perform the collaborative clean for cleaning theindividual cleaning region R2 together. In this process, regions to becleaned by the two cleaning robots 1601 and 1602 may be partiallyoverlapped. Here, the overlapped region may be controlled to be lessthan 10% of the individual cleaning region R2.

Alternatively, when there remains less than 50% of the individualcleaning region R2 to be cleaned by the cleaning robot B 1602, thecleaning robot A 1601 may immediately return to the charging station asdescribed with reference to (b) of FIG. 15 .

In the foregoing fifth embodiment, the cleaning robots are different inpriority, and a cleaning robot given higher priority is morepreferentially assigned to a predetermined individual cleaning regionthan other cleaning robots, and controlled to perform a clean. When theclean for the individual cleaning region assigned with the cleaningrobot is finished, the cleaning robot moves to another individualcleaning region in which the clean is unfinished, and performs a clean.Further, two or more cleaning robots are controlled to perform thecollaborative clean so that one individual cleaning region can becleaned by both two cleaning robots at a time, according to cleanedconditions of the region to which another cleaning robot is assigned.

Below, a method of controlling a collaborative clean with a plurality ofcleaning robots according to the embodiments of the disclosure will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 17 .

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of a method of controlling a collaborative cleanaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 17 , according to an embodiment of the disclosure, aplurality of cleaning robots 100, 101, . . . , 102 are grouped toperform a collaborative clean (S1701). Here, grouping is applied to theplurality of cleaning robots which can communicate with one another.

At operation S1701, the plurality of grouped cleaning robots 100, 101, .. . , 102 is assigned with the individual cleaning regions (S1703).Here, the assignment of the individual cleaning regions may be achievedbased on a user input to the terminal apparatus 300 capable ofcommunicating with the plurality of cleaning robots 100, 101, . . . ,102, or may be automatically achieved based on the current locationinformation of the cleaning robots 100, 101, . . . , 102. Further, thelocations of the cleaning robots 100, 101, . . . , 102 may be fixed tothe locations of the charging station, or may be flexible. When thelocation of the cleaning robot is flexible, the processor 190 of thecleaning robot may identify its own current location. In this operation,it is possible to use a map generated based on data obtained by thedetector 150. In a case of using the map, the current locations of theplurality of cleaning robots are mapped on the map.

A user may input a command, which is issued to perform the collaborativeclean, through the UI 160 or the like provided in one cleaning robot orthe terminal apparatus 300. In response to the command, the plurality ofcleaning robots 100, 101, . . . , 102 performs a collaborative cleanwhile travelling in the individual cleaning region assigned in theoperation S1703 (S1705). Here, the plurality of cleaning robots 100,101, . . . , 102 may be previously set to be given priority, and thecleaning robot having higher priority may be controlled to performcleaning in a predetermined individual cleaning region. Such prioritymay be set by a user through the UI 160 of a predetermined cleaningrobot or the terminal apparatus 300, or may be automatically set.Further, the cleaning robot which finishes cleaning the individualcleaning region assigned thereto may move to and clean another region ofwhich the cleaning is unfinished. In this process, the region assignedto another cleaning robot is collaboratively cleaned, and thus someregions are overlappingly cleaned by two or more cleaning robots.

As described above, according to various embodiments of the disclosure,the plurality of cleaning robots are assigned to the individual cleaningregions based on their location information, and controlled to performthe collaborative clean for the assigned regions, thereby shortening atotal cleaning time and efficiently performing a clean.

Although a few exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, itwill be appreciated that changes may be made in these exemplaryembodiments without departing from the scope defined in the appendedclaims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A moving apparatus for cleaning,comprising: a cleaner configured to perform cleaning; a travelerconfigured to move the moving apparatus; a communicator configured tocommunicate with an external apparatus; a detector to detect anenvironment around the moving apparatus; and a processor configured to:generate a first map based on data obtained from the detector, receive,via the communicator, a second map from at least one different movingapparatus, generate a merged map by merging the first map and the secondmap, the merged map representing a whole cleaning region, map currentlocations of the moving apparatus and the at least one different movingapparatus on the merged map, identify an individual cleaning regioncorresponding to the moving apparatus among a plurality of individualcleaning regions assigned to the moving apparatus and the at least onedifferent moving apparatus based on the current locations throughout themerged map representing the whole cleaning region, based on informationreceived through the communicator, and control the traveler and thecleaner to travel and clean the identified individual cleaning region.2. The moving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each currentlocation of the moving apparatus and the at least one different movingapparatus corresponds to a location of a charging station.
 3. The movingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured toidentify the current locations of the moving apparatus based on dataobtained by the detector for detecting the environment around the movingapparatus.
 4. The moving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theprocessor is configured to generate the merged map based on a matchingpattern between the first map and the second map.
 5. The movingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured tocontrol the traveler so that the moving apparatus is enabled to move toand clean another individual cleaning region based on a finished cleanof the identified individual cleaning region.
 6. A collaborativecleaning system comprising: a plurality of moving apparatuses forcleaning, the plurality of moving apparatuses comprising a first movingapparatus and at least one different moving apparatus; and a terminalapparatus comprising: a communicator configured to communicate with theplurality of moving apparatuses; and a processor configured to obtain afirst map based on data obtained by the first moving apparatus via thecommunicator, obtain a second map based on data obtained by the at leastone different moving apparatus via the communicator, generate a mergedmap by merging the first map and the second map, the merged maprepresenting a whole cleaning region, map current locations of theplurality of moving apparatuses on the merged map, assign a plurality ofindividual cleaning regions based on the current locations of theplurality of moving apparatuses, throughout the merged map representingthe whole cleaning region, based on information received through thecommunicator, and control a command, which is issued to clean theplurality of individual cleaning regions assigned to the plurality ofmoving apparatuses, to be transmitted through the communicator.
 7. Thecollaborative cleaning system according to claim 6, wherein the terminalapparatus further comprises a display configured to display a userinterface (UI), and the processor is configured to control the pluralityof individual cleaning regions to be assigned to the plurality of movingapparatuses based on a user input to the UI.
 8. The collaborativecleaning system according to claim 7, wherein the UI comprises aplurality of items to input a setting value for assigning the individualcleaning regions to the plurality of moving apparatuses.
 9. Thecollaborative cleaning system according to claim 6, wherein theprocessor is configured to display the merged map of the whole cleaningregion on a display, and assign the plurality of individual cleaningregions to the plurality of moving apparatuses based on a user input tothe displayed merged map.
 10. The collaborative cleaning systemaccording to claim 6, wherein the processor is configured to generatethe merged map based on a matching pattern between the first map and thesecond map.
 11. The collaborative cleaning system according to claim 6,wherein the processor is configured to receive location information fromthe plurality of moving apparatuses through the communicator, andcontrol a display to map and display the received location informationon the merged map.
 12. The collaborative cleaning system according toclaim 6, wherein a display is configured to display a UI to set prioritywith regard to the plurality of moving apparatuses for cleaning, and theprocessor is configured to transmit priority information set through theUI to a matching moving apparatus through the communicator.
 13. Acollaborative clean control method of a plurality of moving apparatusesfor cleaning, the plurality of moving apparatuses being enabled tocommunicate with one another, the collaborative clean control methodcomprising: generating a first map based on data obtained by a firstmoving apparatus from among the plurality of moving apparatuses via acommunicator, first data being regarding an environment around the firstmoving apparatus; generating a second map based on data obtained by asecond moving apparatus from among the plurality of moving apparatusesvia the communicator, second data being regarding an environment aroundthe second moving apparatus; generating a merged map by merging thefirst map and the second map, the merged map representing a wholecleaning region; mapping current locations of the plurality of movingapparatuses on the merged map; assigning a plurality of individualcleaning regions to the plurality of moving apparatuses based on thecurrent locations in the merged map; and allowing the plurality ofmoving apparatuses to travel and clean the assigned plurality ofindividual cleaning region.
 14. A moving apparatus for cleaning,comprising: a cleaner configured to perform cleaning; a travelerconfigured to move the moving apparatus; a communicator configured tocommunicate with an external apparatus; and a processor configured to:identify an individual cleaning region corresponding to the movingapparatus among a plurality of individual cleaning regions assigned tothe moving apparatus and at least one different moving apparatus basedon current locations throughout a whole cleaning region, based oninformation received through the communicator, and control the travelerand the cleaner to travel and clean the identified individual cleaningregion, wherein the processor is configured to identify a relativelocation indicating a distance and an orientation of the movingapparatus to another moving apparatus, based on the moving apparatus andthe other moving apparatus being located within a range shorter than apredetermined distance, identify the individual cleaning region so thatthe moving apparatus and the another moving apparatus perform cleaningwhile traveling in a direction away from each other and control thetraveler and the cleaner to travel and clean the identified individualcleaning region.
 15. A collaborative cleaning system comprising: aplurality of moving apparatuses for cleaning; and a terminal apparatuscomprising: a communicator configured to communicate with the pluralityof moving apparatuses; and a processor configured to assign a pluralityof individual cleaning regions based on current locations of theplurality of moving apparatuses, throughout a whole cleaning region,based on information received through the communicator, and control acommand, which is issued to clean the individual cleaning regionsassigned to the plurality of moving apparatuses, to be transmittedthrough the communicator, wherein the processor is configured toidentify a relative location indicating a distance and an orientation ofa moving apparatus from among the plurality of moving apparatuses toanother moving apparatus, based on the moving apparatus and the othermoving apparatus being located within a range shorter than apredetermined distance, assign the individual cleaning region so thatthe moving apparatus and the another moving apparatus perform cleaningwhile traveling in a direction away from each other and control thecommand to travel and clean the identified individual cleaning region tobe transmitted through the communicator.
 16. A collaborative cleancontrol method of a plurality of moving apparatuses for cleaning, theplurality of moving apparatuses being enabled to communicate with oneanother, the collaborative clean control method comprising: assigning aplurality of individual cleaning regions to the plurality of movingapparatuses based on current locations; and allowing the plurality ofmoving apparatuses to travel and clean the assigned individual cleaningregion, wherein the collaborative clean control method furthercomprising identifying a relative location indicating a distance and anorientation of a moving apparatus from among the plurality of movingapparatuses to another moving apparatus, and wherein the assigning theplurality of individual cleaning regions comprises, based on the movingapparatus and the other moving apparatus being located within a rangeshorter than a predetermined distance, assigning the individual cleaningregion so that the moving apparatus and the another moving apparatusperform cleaning while traveling in a direction away from each other.